


너는 나의 Universe

by ride_the_wave



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, F/F, i love ryujin this is not slander, itzy characters do make appearances, softball star meets shy photographer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:42:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27419737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ride_the_wave/pseuds/ride_the_wave
Summary: Hyunjin doesn't have many friends besides her camera.Heejin doesn't have many friends outside of the softball team.So, you can see why it's unfortunate that their only connection is the infielder who bullies the living daylights out of Hyunjin at every chance she gets.
Relationships: Jeon Heejin/Kim Hyunjin
Comments: 14
Kudos: 48





	너는 나의 Universe

**Author's Note:**

> Hi folks! I started this a WHILE ago, as you can probably tell from the Loon-Itzy softball theme, but I decided it deserved to see some progress.  
> I apologize for any errors, I do my best to proofread but I am only one person, lol.  
> Thanks for reading, please do enjoy !

Hyunjin stopped her bag from slipping off her shoulder as she raised the camera to her eye, focusing on the home dugout of the school’s softball field. 

The BBC Bluejays were all pressed against the fence separating them from the field in anticipation as star designated hitter Hwang Yeji stood at the plate, one strike and one ball pitched at the bottom of the sixth.

All of the reporters for the school paper were aimed and waiting for the perfect shot of her inevitable hit, the ball connecting with the bat mid-swing, the perfect photo. 

Hyunjin heard the crack of the bat, but through her lens wasn’t Yeji, or the opposing team’s pitcher, but the Bluejays’ coach gripping the fence in excitement as she watched the play.

In Hyunjin’s mind, the best photos are found where no one else looks. 

Not at the star player batting a double with a runner on first, no. But the rest of the team, the players not actually playing, sitting on the splintered bench, water bottles tightly gripped, batting gloves un-velcroed and bats haphazardly leaned against the walls.

Their posture, their expressions, their messy uniforms. Far more interesting than the girl, who always hits the ball, hitting the ball. 

A smaller girl was up to bat next, and the crowd was significantly less excited for the results than they were moments ago. A man on second and third, and only one out in the inning? BBC would score for sure.

She took the moment of calm to check the burst of photos she just took. They weren’t too bad luckily; Coach Kang’s face was scrunched up happily, and captain Choi Jisu was bouncing up and down slightly, adding a slight blur around her edges. 

Hyunjin considered this game a successful shoot, and looked down to put her camera back in its bag.

She was just securing the lens cap when she heard a thundering crack of a bat and the crowd's surprised hollering. She looked up in confusion, her jaw and the lens cap dropping as she raised her camera to capture the ball hurtling toward her from beyond the fence surrounding the field. 

The camera clicked rapidly as the ball rattled the fence, Hyunjin flinching back at the impact. She looked around awkwardly at the eyes trained in her general direction, a blush rising to her cheeks as she scooped the now dusty lens cap up from the ground.

She saw the outfielder jogging in her direction, the rest of the visiting team standing dejectedly as the batter rounded the bases with her hands in the air, a brilliant grin on her face.

Hyunjin could take a picture of her crossing home plate, or she could take a picture of the ball that got her there, forgotten in the tall grass, far from the excitement of the diamond.

She saw all of her classmates cheering for the girl from the stands, their phones and cameras aimed at the home run hitter being hugged by her team, and lowered her lens to the ground.

**

She scrolled through all the photos she took that day as she walked to the parking lot. (So far the best one she got was of Coach Kang lifting the catcher up off the ground after an amazing play at the plate.) Some were deleted as she walked, others mentally marked to edit and print when she had the time this week.

Hyunjin was so immersed in her photos that she nearly dropped the equipment as she bumped into a body in her path. She caught the camera, then her breath, and lifted her gaze from the small screen to apologize. That is, until she saw who the obstruction was. She swallowed her nerves before speaking.

“S-sorry, Ryujin. I didn’t see you there.”

The shortstop scoffed and crossed her arms.

“I’m sure you didn’t, too busy looking at your creeping machine there, weren’t you, Kim Hyunjin.”

Hyunjin looked away, clutching her camera with white knuckles. She shuffled her feet, too anxious to stand still.

“It’s not creepy to like taking pictures, Ryujin. I just-”

She was cut short as the camera was roughly grabbed from between her hands.

Her eyes widened as she reached for it, but Ryujin twisted away from her and held it close to her chest.

“If they’re not creepy then I’m sure you don’t mind me keeping this for a while, right pal? Maybe I could give you some constructive criticism, or some lessons on how to be less of a freak.”

Before Hyunjin could beg for her camera back, Ryujin was already making her way across the grounds to the locker room, carelessly shoving the expensive equipment into her dirty overstuffed bat bag.

Hyunjin found herself sitting on a bench as the sun lowered behind the school’s silhouette, legs bouncing nervously as she watched all of the players leave the school’s athletic wing, some alone, some in pairs, some filling whole cars for after-game parties and sleepovers.

It was nearing nighttime once she figured that all of the team had left. She had about a fifty-fifty shot at whether or not Ryujin had actually taken her camera home. She figured that she’d leave it so she wouldn’t have to explain it to her parents, but a part of Hyunjin’s brain told her that it was probably being crushed by Ryujin’s tires right now in some parking lot.

She tried to ignore the pessimism creeping in as she quickly and quietly made her way to the girl's locker room.

She stopped before entering, listening for a moment to make sure that it was empty, she didn’t think she’d be able to explain why she was ransacking the star first baseman’s gym locker after school hours.

She took a steeling breath and turned the doorknob.

So far so good. It seemed completely empty, and now it was just a matter of finding the right locker. She’d never shared a gym class with Ryujin (thank God) so it looked like she’d just have to peek through the locker doors until she found the right bag. Then she’d have to get it open somehow, but that was future Hyunjin’s problem.

As she took her first step into the room, the door clunked shut behind her loudly and a voice called out, nearly making Hyunjin jump out of her skin.

“Chaeryeong, I told you I’d be out in a minute, geez.”

Hyunjin fumbled for a moment, not sure how to proceed. It was obvious someone had just entered the room, so she couldn’t leave or act like she wasn’t there, but now she had to explain to this girl why she was stealing someone’s gym equipment.

She cleared her throat quietly.

“Uhm, sorry I, uh, just need to get something from a locker.”

She made her way around to the second row of lockers where it sounded like this girl was.

The first thing she noticed was how she was still in her uniform, her bag also an open mess on the bench, certainly not ready to leave like she said she was.

The stranger looked up as Hyunjin appeared, an eyebrow raised in question.

“ _A_ locker? Not _your_ locker? You know, the gym teachers have been trying to find out who stole Im Yeojin’s sneakers last week, don’t make me snitch.”

Hyunjin scrunched her nose, “What? Who would steal gym shoes?”

The girl shrugged as she carelessly tossed her mitt and visor into her bag, her batting gloves still tucked into the back pocket of her white pants.

“I don’t know, why are you sneaking into the locker room minutes before the school locks up?”

Hyunjin only became more defensive, embarrassed by why she was here in the first place.

“Listen, someone stole something of mine and I didn’t want to risk running into them again. I just want it back, it’s too expensive to replace, ok?”

The stranger stopped packing her bag once more, looking at her with some curiosity mixed with pity.

“Really? Who? Are you sure it’s in here?”

Hyunjin sighed as she felt her face warm up, looking away from the questioning as she answered.

“Yeah… do you happen to know which one of these is Shin Ryujin’s?”

The girl’s eyes widened as she immediately turned and led Hyunjin to a locker in another aisle. As she followed she noted the name Jeon and number one on her jersey, meaning she is their second string pitcher Jeon Heejin.

Hyunjin wouldn’t say she was a sports fanatic, but she knew enough about the school’s teams to recognize a player’s name or number. Is that what Ryujin meant when she called her creepy? Because she knew more about people than they knew about her?

“It’s this one right here, looks like she left her bag here too.”

Heejin patted a locker halfway down the row, then to Hyunjin’s surprise, dialed the combination into the lock and swung the door open. As she plopped the bag onto the bench she noticed the question in Hyunjin’s eyes.

“Uh, she lets me put some of my things in here sometimes. So, why would Ryujin take something of yours? She doesn’t strike me as the thieving type.”

Hyunjin chuckled awkwardly as she reached for the bag’s main zipper.

“Yeah, she, uh… she’s not my biggest fan, I guess. I’ve never known why, but…”

She trailed off to let out a sigh of relief at the sight of her camera in the bag, unharmed.

Heejin saw the camera too, and a look of amused understanding colored her features.

“So you’re Kim Hyunjin.”

Hyunjin rolled her eyes. Of course Ryujin talked about her to the team. Probably called her a peeping tom, or something else just as ridiculous.

“The one and only, in the flesh.”

Heejin looked at her for a moment before commenting, “You don’t seem like a perv, but maybe that’s just me.”

Hyunjin huffed in frustration.

“Is it really so weird that I enjoy taking pictures? Like, does she give the journalism students this much shit? Or the photography club? Or is it just me that she has a problem with? I don’t get it.”

Heejin’s smile looked much less teasing after Hyunjin’s small outburst.

“No, I think it’s just you. I couldn’t tell you why either, all I know is that she’s convinced that you have, like, some creepy stalker lair full of pictures of pretty girls or something.”

Hyunjin’s eyes grew comically large at that.

“Really? She says that?”

Heejin narrowed her eyes.

“Yeah she says that... You don’t, right?”

Hyunjin scoffed and turned the camera on, just to make sure it wasn’t damaged at all.

“Jesus, no! I hardly even take pictures of people. I mean, my favorite shot from today was a ball sitting in the freaking dirt. Is there something creepy about _that_ that I should be made aware of?”

Her mouth quirked at this stranger’s sarcasm, she thought it was really funny honestly, considering how shy Hyunjin seemed at first.

“No, but now I’m just wondering what’s so great about a softball. They’re filthy highlighter yellow lumps of leather, literally the least visually pleasing part of the game.”

Hyunjin fought off a blush and the rising insecurity she usually feels when the topic turns to her choice in photo subjects.

“It was actually _really_ great. It was a homerun ball, brought the guys on second and third home too. But you wouldn’t know its impact just by looking at it, because like you said, it’s just an ugly little ball.”

She touched a few buttons before turning the camera for her to see what she meant. The screen was tiny and the photo was unedited, but Hyunjin couldn’t help but be as proud of the shot as she was nervous about the predicament she was currently in.

“I need to touch it up a bit, but…”

She trailed off as Heejin took the camera out of her extended hand, looking at the picture much closer than she expected her too. Hyunjin felt the time stretch as Heejin observed the camera’s screen intently, her nerves growing, ready for this girl to turn and humiliate her the way Ryujin always does.

“This was Jiwoo’s hit? The one that went all the way to the fence?”

Hyunjin blinked, not expecting genuine interest from this stranger.

“Uhm, yeah, it was that last hit in the sixth inning. I wasn’t expecting it, really, not after Yeji’s double just prior.”

Heejin’s eyes remained glued to the camera as she hummed in agreement. She handed it back to Hyunjin after a moment.

“None of us were, especially since coach told her to try and get a walk. And you’re right, it’s a really good shot, surprisingly. You need the story behind it to understand, but yeah. Not just a ball in the grass.”

Hyunjin smiled in thanks, trying her best not to give off how uncomfortable she was in sharing her photos, let alone having to talk about them.

Heejin began to walk back toward her own locker and bag, both of which still remained open and spilling out items.

“To be honest with you Hyunjin, I don’t know why Ryujin hates you, and I kinda can’t believe that she stole your camera. She’s not a bad person, she’s actually really nice when you get to know her, but I don’t know. That was really shitty of her.”

Hyunjin shifted her feet, unsure of what to say. She wasn’t sure how Ryujin could be a good or kind person given the treatment she received on the daily, but she _was_ pleasantly surprised by the brief glimpse she had at her teammate Heejin.

“Uh.. tha-”

“And you know, for the record, I don’t think anyone else on the team really believes her. I know I don’t. Especially now, knowing that you’d rather take pictures of dirt than our asses in our baseball pants, or whatever Ryujin says you do.”

Hyunjin shouldn’t be surprised by the lies Heejin hears from her harasser, but she is, just a little bit. It stings more than she’d like it to.

“Uhm, thanks, Heejin. I don’t know what it is but… yeah.”

Heejin came around the corner, bag packed and thrown over her shoulder.

“Well, good luck with your pictures I guess. See you around.”

Hyunjin sighed to herself as the door closed behind Heejin. Her camera was back in her possession, and she knew that the softball team didn’t _all_ think she was some pervert or stalker, but she still felt her chest ache as she gently tucked her camera into its bag.

She slowly made her way to the front of the school, beginning the trek home as the sun finished setting and the moon began to climb.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading!!  
> If you liked it, I have a Hyerim WIP that I plan on continuing, and you can find me @natazz1011 on twitter and riding-the-wave on tumblr :)


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